The 2018 Winter Olympic Games are kicking off with the opening ceremony Friday, Feb. 9 (at 3 a.m. PST) and, among the 226 Canadian athletes proudly marching into Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea, several have links to 麻豆传媒映画and the Lower Mainland.
To help you cheer them on, we鈥檝e compiled a list of where they鈥檙e from and when they鈥檙e scheduled to compete. All times listed are in 麻豆传媒映画time.
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Meghan Agosta
Sport: hockey
Schedule (opening round):
Sunday, Feb. 11, 4:10 a.m. vs. Russia.
Monday, Feb. 12 , 听11:40 p.m. vs. Finland.
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 7:10 p.m. vs. United States
A , Agosta is from Ruthven, Ontario and now lives in Surrey.
A forward with Canada鈥檚 women鈥檚 hockey team since 2004, Agosta was recently named assistant captain and is one of the team鈥檚 top scorers. No stranger to Olympic competition, Agosta won gold with the team in Torino in 2006, 麻豆传媒映画in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. She was the top scorer for the team at the 2010 Games and was voted MVP and Best Forward, as well as being named to the Media All-Star Team.
Agosta has been part of eight world championship teams, winning two gold and six silver medals.
While playing for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women鈥檚 Hockey League in 2012-13, Agosta became the first player to win the Angela James Bowl in back-to-back seasons as the league鈥檚 leading scorer. And in 2011-12 she had the CWHL鈥檚 single season scoring record.
She is currently on a year-long unpaid leave from the department in order to train and compete in the Olympics.
Fun fact: She always puts the left side of her equipment on first.
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Larkyn Austman
Sport: figure skating
Schedule:
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 5 p.m. short program,
Thursday, Feb. 22, 5 p.m. free skate
Coquitlam鈥檚 Austman is competing in her first Olympic Games after putting together two of the best performances of her career at the 2018 Canadian Championships in 麻豆传媒映画last month, winning a bronze medal.
She won the junior national title in 2013 at age 14 but later that year developed tendonitis in both of her Achilles tendons, which took her out of competition for most of the 2013-14 season. She pushed through and made her senior debut at the national championships and then competed at the 2014 World Junior Championships.
After finishing sixth at the 2016 Canadian Championship, Austman posted a fourth-place finish at a year later earning a spot on the national team. A month later she competed in her first senior international competition, winning bronze at the Challenge Cup in The Hague, Netherlands. She made her Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada International in October 2017.
Fun fact: She first skated on Olympic ice at the 2010 Games in 麻豆传媒映画as a flower retriever, which gave her a front-row seat to watch Canada鈥檚 Joannie Rochette win bronze, sparking her Olympic dreams.
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Zoe Bergermann
Sport: snowboard cross
Schedule:
Thursday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m. qualification, 7:56 p.m. finals.
North 麻豆传媒映画resident Zoe Bergermann was born in Georgetown, Ont. and lists Erin, Ont. as her hometown. The 23-year-old has eight career top-10 World Cup finishes despite missing competition time battling a rare form of arthritis called Still鈥檚 disease. These will be her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Bergermann wears the same long johns every race day, a pair that she鈥檚 owned since her days on the provincial team. Also she was inspired to go after her own Olympic dream after watching a win a medal on a certain local course during a large competition in 2010. Call it the Ma毛lle effect!
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Carle Brenneman
Sport: snowboard cross
Schedule:
Thursday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m. qualification, 7:56 p.m. finals.
Brenneman was born in Richmond and lists Comox as her hometown and North 麻豆传媒映画as her current residence. She was an alternate on the Olympic team in 2014, and was the top Canadian finisher at the 2017 World Championships where she placed eighth.
Fun fact: Her favourite Olympic moment is 鈥� yup, you guessed it 鈥� Ma毛lle Ricker winning snowboard cross gold on Cypress Mountain in 2010.
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Gilbert Brule
Sport: hockey
Schedule (opening round):
Thursday, Feb. 15, 4:10 a.m. (PST) vs. Switzerland.
Friday, Feb. 16, 7:10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 4:10 a.m.
Brule was born in Edmonton but moved to North Van as a child and played minor hockey at the North Shore Winter Club. The 31-year-old forward was dominant in junior in his time with the 麻豆传媒映画Giants, winning WHL rookie of the year honours and being named WHL playoff MVP after leading the Giants to the Memorial Cup in 2006. He appeared in 299 regular season NHL games from 2005 to 2014, notching 43 goals and 52 assists while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes. He currently plays for Beijing-based Kunlun Red Star in the KHL.
Fun fact: Brule gave a ride to Bono, the U2 frontman, who was hitchhiking on a West 麻豆传媒映画road after getting caught in a rain storm while out for a walk in June of 2011.
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Jane Channell
Sport: skeleton
Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 16, 3:20 a.m. (PST), heat one and two.
Saturday, Feb. 17, 3:20 a.m., heat three and four.
Born and raised in North Vancouver, Jane Channell is a true North Shore girl who starred in several sports at Handsworth Secondary before moving on to Simon Fraser University where she ran track and played on the softball team. After graduating from SFU she dedicated herself to skeleton, making the most of the new track in Whistler that was installed for the 2010 Olympics.
You鈥檒l have to get up early (or stay up late) to catch her races, but it will be worth the sleep deprivation as Channell will be in the hunt for medals in South Korea. Headed to her first Olympic Games, she鈥檚 currently ranked fifth overall in the World Cup skeleton standings and won silver at a World Cup race in Whistler in November. Channell, known as the 鈥淟egacy Baby鈥� for her connection to the 麻豆传媒映画Games, paid tribute to the 2010 Olympics with the design of her new racing helmet.
鈥淭heir slogan was 鈥榃ith Glowing Hearts,鈥� and so when you look at my helmet you鈥檒l see the breastplate and the ribcage, and where the heart should be is a glowing Maple Leaf,鈥� she recently told the North Shore News. 鈥淚鈥檝e got Canada running through my veins.鈥�
Fun fact: Channell always puts her left sock, shoe and glove on first, then the right. If she forgets, she starts over.
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Tess Critchlow
Sport: snowboard cross
Schedule:
Thursday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m. qualification, 7:56 p.m. finals.
North 麻豆传媒映画resident Tess Critchlow was born in Prince George and lists Kelowna as her hometown. The 22-year-old scored four top-10 finishes on the World Cup in the 2016-17 season and won the national title in 2016. These are her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Her father surprised her with snowboard cross tickets for 麻豆传媒映画2010 where she saw one of her idols, West Vancouver鈥檚 Ma毛lle Ricker, win gold, sparking her own Olympic dream.
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Simon D鈥橝rtois
Sport: Freestyle skiing, halfpipe
Schedule:
Monday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m. qualification.
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m. finals
D鈥橝rtois was born in North 麻豆传媒映画but calls Whistler home. He made history at the 2015 Winter X Games in Aspen where he became the first Canadian man to win the ski halfpipe event. These will be his first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: His grandparents were spies for the allies in the Second World War.
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Stefan Elliot
Sport: hockey
Schedule (opening round):
听Thursday, Feb. 15, 4:10 a.m. (PST) vs. Switzerland.
Friday, Feb. 16, 7:10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, 4:10 a.m.
The NHL decided not to release its players for the 2018 Olympics, opening the door for other players to live their Olympic dreams. Elliott was born in North 麻豆传媒映画and counts 麻豆传媒映画as his hometown and played his minor hockey with the North Shore Winter Club. The 27-year-old defenceman starred with the North Van/Burnaby-based Northwest Giants of the BC Major Midget League before moving to Saskatoon for a stellar WHL career with the Blades.
He was drafted in the second round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009 and scored 24 points in 84 career NHL games with the Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators. He is currently playing for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League, but as one of the top Canadian players not currently in the NHL, he鈥檒l get to go for gold this year in South Korea.
Fun fact: Elliott made his NHL debut on Hockey Night in Canada, scoring the game-winning goal in a 5-2 win for Colorado over the Edmonton Oilers.
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Rosalind (Roz) Groenewoud
Sport: freestyle skiing, halfpipe
Schedule:
Sunday, Feb. 18, 5 p.m. qualification.
Monday, Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m. finals.
Groenewoud, or 鈥淩oz G鈥� as she鈥檚 known in the action sports world, took over from her hero and role model, the late , as a world leader in women鈥檚 ski halfpipe. Born in Calgary and now living in Vancouver, this is Groenewoud鈥檚 second Olympic appearance. She finished seventh in her event鈥檚 Olympic debut at the 2014 Games in Sochi.
Groenewoud made her Winter X Games debut in 2008 and gradually moved up the ranks, finishing third in 2010 and 2011, and then going on to claim gold at the 2011 FIS World Championships just two weeks later.
At the X Games in 2012, just a week after Burke died after a training accident, Groenewoud, sporting a red 鈥淪arah鈥� sticker on her helmet, performed the biggest air of the competition and won gold with a competition record score of 93.66. She went on to win gold at the X Games in Europe later that year, becoming one of just three female halfpipe skiers to win gold at both X Games in one year.
Fun fact: Groenewoud always wears purple underwear and purple hair elastics, a Canadian flag bandana and red lipstick when she competes. And her helmet features a silver snowflake sticker with Sarah Burke鈥檚 signature on it.
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Emma Lunder
Sport: biathlon
Schedule:
multiple races
Lunder was born in North 麻豆传媒映画but lists Vernon as her hometown and Canmore as her place of residence. She scored her career-best World Cup finish in December when she finished 18th in the 10-kilometre pursuit in Annecy, France. These will be her first Olympic Games.听
Fun fact: Each season she designates one pair of earrings as that year鈥檚 鈥渞ace earrings.鈥�
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Mercedes Nicoll
Sport: snowboard halfpipe
Schedule:
Sunday, Feb. 11, 8:30 p.m., qualification.
Monday, Feb. 12, 5 p.m., finals.
Nicoll was born in North Vancouver, moved to Toronto when she was a toddler and now calls Whistler home. She鈥檒l be competing in her fourth Olympic Games, her best finish coming in 2010 when she made the halfpipe final and finished sixth. She has eight career World Cup podiums and has won five national championships.
Fun fact: Nicoll broke a family Olympic curse when she debuted at the Games in 2006. Her father was supposed to represent Great Britain in skiing but broke his leg before he could go, and her grandfather was supposed to go to the Games in bobsleigh but opted to go on his honeymoon instead.
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Spencer O鈥橞rien
Sport: snowboard slopestyle, big air
Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 10, 8:30 p.m., slopestyle qualification.
Sunday, Feb. 11, 5 p.m., Slopestyle final.
Sunday, Feb. 18, 4:30 p.m., big air qualification.
Thursday, Feb. 22, 4:30 p.m., big air final.
Spencer O鈥橞rien grew up in Courtenay, B.C., but moved to North 麻豆传媒映画in 2009 to keep her close to both Whistler and the airport. This will be her second Olympic Games following a 12th-place showing in slopestyle in 2014. One of the world鈥檚 best, O鈥橞rien has claimed gold in slopestyle both at the world championships and the X Games.
Fun fact: O鈥橞rien worked on her dad鈥檚 fishing boat to save money so she could move to Whistler by herself at age 17.听
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Manuel Osborne-Paradis
Sport: Alpine skiing
Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. (PST), downhill.
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 6 p.m., Super G.
The man known as Manny is racing into his fourth Olympic Games as one of the leaders of the Canadian alpine team. He has 11 career World Cup medals and won bronze in Super G at last year鈥檚 world championships. His best ever finish at an Olympic Games came in 2006 when he placed 10th in downhill.听听
The Olympic course at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre sets up well for him, Manny told the North Shore News during a recent conference call.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have a gliding section but it鈥檚 not very steep so I think it suits me better than guys who are really good at charging down steep hills,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is nothing too worrisome about the race course. It is a very intermediate course where we still have to race against the best guys in the world.鈥�
Fun fact: Manny has collected more than 50 helmets from his fellow skiers, but he only collects from racers who have been on the World Cup podium.
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Cassie Sharpe
Sport: Freestyle skiing, halfpipe
Schedule:
Sunday, Feb. 18, 5 p.m. qualification.
Monday, Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m. finals.
Sharpe was born in Calgary and lists Comox as her hometown but resides in North Vancouver. She landed her first big result at the 2015 FIS World Championships where she won silver, and has since reached the top of the podium on the World Cup tour and at the 2016 X Games in Oslo, Norway. These will be her first Olympic Games.
Fun fact: Her brother Darcy also won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships, finishing second in the big air event.
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Broderick Thompson
Sport: alpine skiing
Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. (PST), downhill.
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 6 p.m., Super G.
Broderick Thompson was born in North 麻豆传媒映画but calls Whistler home. The 23-year-old will make his Olympic debut in South Korea. The young racer broke out in 2014, finishing first in the Nor-Am Cup Super G standings and making his World Cup debut that same year.
Fun fact: The part-time wood carver and ukulele player works at his parents鈥� bed and breakfast in the offseason.
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Marielle Thomspon
Sport: ski cross
Schedule:
Thursday, Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. seeding, 9:30 p.m. finals.
Marielle Thompson is the defending Olympic champion in ski cross and she鈥檒l be competing in her second Olympics in South Korea following her golden showing in Sochi. She鈥檚 also Broderick Thompson鈥檚 older sister and was also born in North Van and raised in Whistler. She鈥檒l be one of the ski cross racers carrying the spirit of West Vancouver鈥檚 Georgia Simmerling who was supposed to be one of the medal favourites coming into the 2018 Games but broke both her legs in a scary crash last month.
Fun fact: Marielle was just 19 years old when she won her first World Cup gold medal and won the overall World Cup title that same season, becoming the first Canadian ski cross racer to win a Crystal Globe.
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Yuki Tsubota
Sport: freestyle skiing, slopestyle
Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 16, 5 p.m. qualification, 8 p.m. finals.
Tsubota started slopestyle skiing in 2011, the same year that the discipline was given approval to be added to the Olympic program, and a year after committing to the sport full time she was named to the Canadian national team.听
Born in 麻豆传媒映画but lists Whistler as her hometown and residence, Tsubota made her Olympic debut, along with her sport, at Sochi in 2014. She was one of the Canadians to watch that year having reached the podium in some of the world鈥檚 biggest competitions. Tsubota posted the fourth-highest score in the qualifying round but crashed on the first jump in the second run in the finals. She had to be stretchered off the course and taken to hospital where she was diagnosed with a concussion and a fractured cheek bone. She had to return to Canada for surgery but was back skiing a week later.
Fun fact: Before starting a run, Tsubota will sing a secret song verse in her head.
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Reid Watts
Sport: luge
Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2:10 a.m., runs 1 and 2.
Sunday, Feb. 11, 3 a.m., runs three and four.
Watts first tried luge at age nine when he attended a recruitment camp at the Whistler Sliding Centre. His first run was the greatest rush of his life.
He put Canada on the medal podium at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway sliding to bronze in the men鈥檚 single event. Watts, who was born in 麻豆传媒映画and lists Whistler as his hometown and residence, began competing internationally on the Junior World Cup circuit in 2013-14, racking up seven medal over the next couple seasons. He was given the change to join the World Cup team for three races in 2015-16 and made his world championship debut in 2016.
Watts moved to the World Cup circuit full time in the 2016-17 season and finished in the top 10 of the U23 division at the world championships.
Fun fact: Watts always wears socks from Whistler Bike Co. while racing.
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鈥擶ith files from Andy Prest, North Shore News
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